Mus'ab b. Umayr

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Mus'ab b. Umayr
Personal Information
Full NameMus'ab b. 'Umayr b. Hashim b. 'Abd Manaf b. 'Abd al-Dar Qusayy
TeknonymAbu 'Abd Allah
EpithetMus'ab al-Khayr
LineageQuraysh
BirthMecca
Muhajir/AnsarMuhajir
Place(s) of ResidenceMecca • AbyssiniaMedina
Death/Martyrdom3/625
Cause of Death/MartyrdomIn the Battle of Uhud, martyred by Ibn Qami'a
Burial PlaceUhud Cemetery
Religious Information
Migration toAbyssiniaMedina
Known forReciter of the Qur'anSahaba


Muṣʿab b. ʿUmayr b. Hāshim b. ʿAbd Manāf b. ʿAbd al-Dār Quṣayy (Arabic: مُصعَب بن عُمَیر بن هاشِم بن عَبدمَناف بن عَبدالدار قُصَی) (d. 3/625) was one of the Sahaba or companions of the Prophet (s) who attended the Battle of Badr and was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. Mus'ab was among those who converted to Islam in the house of Arqam and immigrated to Abyssinia. The Prophet (s) sent him to Yathrib for the propagation of Islam.

Kunya and Title

Mus'ab was a companion of the Prophet (s), and his kunya was Abu 'Abd Allah.[1] He was also known as "Mus'ab al-Khayr" (Mus'ab the Good).[2] His mother, Khannas, was the daughter of Malik, a wealthy member of the Quraysh tribe. Mus'ab grew up in a rich family. Before his conversion to Islam, his parents loved him very much, and provided him with the best clothes.[3] Zaynab bt. Mus'ab b. 'Umayr was his and Hamana's daughter, and the progeny of Mus'ab continued only through her.[4]

Conversion to Islam

Mus'ab was one of the first people who converted to Islam. He converted to Islam when the Prophet (s) was secretly inviting people to Islam in the house of Arqam. He concealed his conversion to Islam from his parents and relatives, and sometimes he secretly went to the Prophet (s). However, one day 'Uthman b. Talha saw him while he was saying prayers. He informed Mus'ab's mother and friends that Mus'ab had converted to Islam. They imprisoned Mus'ab until he escaped the prison and immigrated to Abyssinia.[5] He was also confined in the Valley of Abu Talib together with the Prophet (s) and Banu Hashim.[6]

Propagator of Islam

In the 12th year after bi'that (the Prophet's (s) first revelation)/620, when some people from Yathrib pledged their allegiance to the Prophet (s) after the Pledge of al-'Aqaba, their representative, As'ad b. Zurara, asked the Prophet (s) to send someone to them in order to teach them the Qur'an and other Islamic rulings. The Prophet (s) sent Mus'ab to them. His propagation of Islam in Yathrib made people such as Sa'd b. Mu'adh, Usayd b. Hudayr and 'Abbad b. Bishr convert to Islam.[7] Mus'ab was the first Muhajir who went to Medina before the Prophet (s).[8]

The first Friday Prayer in Medina

Mus'ab b. 'Umayr was the first person who led Friday Prayer in Medina. He wrote a letter to the Prophet (s) and asked for his permission to lead Friday Prayers with Muslims in Medina, and the Prophet (s) gave him the permission. In the first Friday Prayer, Muslims gathered in the house of Sa'd b. Khaythama and he said Friday Prayers with 12 people.[9]

The Prophet (s) made a Pact of Brotherhood between him and Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.[10] It is said that the Prophet (s) also made such a pact between him and Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas and another one between him and Dhikwan b. 'Abd al-Qays.[11]

In the Battle of Badr

In the Battle of Badr, the flag of the right side of the Muslim troops was held by Mus'ab b. 'Umayr.[12] In this battle, Zurara b. 'Umayr—Mus'ab's brother—was captivated by Muslims. Some people asked Mus'ab to release his brother, but he replied: "I am ordered to tie his hands tightly in order to receive a ransom from his wealthy mother".[13]

Martyrdom

Mus'ab was also a flag-holder in the Battle of Uhud.[14] When a group of Muslims started to collect the booties of the battle, the enemy seized the opportunity and attacked Muslims from behind. In this attack, Ibn Qami'a al-Laythi attacked Mus'ab and cut off his right hand. At this moment, the rumor of the Prophet's (s) martyrdom spread all over, but Mus'ab recited the Quranic verse, "Muhammad is no more than a messenger: many were the messengers that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will you then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah"[15], and then he held the flag with his left hand. Ibn Qami'a cut off his left hand too. He then held the flag on his chest and was then martyred by Ibn Qami'a's final stroke.[16]

The Prophet (s) cursed Mus'ab's murderer, Ibn Qami'a.[17] When the battle was over, the Prophet (s) went to Mus'ab's corpse and recited the Quranic verse, "among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least"[18].[19] Since there was no shroud there to cover his corpse with, they placed a robe on it but it did not fully cover it. The Prophet (s) told people to cover his head with the robe and cover his legs with leaves.[20] When people were carrying his corpse, the Prophet (s) recalled past memories of Mus'ab and said: "I do not forget that I saw you in Mecca, and there was no one there with clothes better than yours, and today you are covered with a dusty head covered with a robe".[21]

He was 40 years old when he was martyred.[22] At the Prophet's (s) command, he was buried in one grave together with 'Amir b. Rabi'a, Suwaybit b. Harmala, and his brother, Abu l-Rum.[23]

His wife, Hamana, was in the battlefield in order to supply water for the injured. She later married Talha b. 'Ubayd Allah and gave birth to Muhammad b. Talha b. 'Ubayd Allah.[24] When the Prophet (s) saw Hamana, he recited the verse, "to Allah we belong, and to him is our return".[25] Hamana asked: who do you recite this for? The Prophet (s) mentioned her uncle Hamza and her brother in the first two times, and in the third time, he said: "your spouse, Mus'ab!" When Hamana heard this, she cried: "what a remorse!"[26]

Notes

  1. Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba, vol. 6, p. 98; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1473.
  2. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 405.
  3. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 405; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1474.
  4. Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 6, p. 134.
  5. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 405; Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 4, p. 406.
  6. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1474.
  7. Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, p. 112; vol. 2, p. 46; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 2, p. 602; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Al-Iṣāba, vol. 1, p. 224.
  8. Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 3, p. 720; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba, vol. 6, p. 98.
  9. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1473; Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 3, p. 173.
  10. Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, p. 572; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 2, p. 476.
  11. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 408.
  12. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1475; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba, vol. 4, p. 575.
  13. Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 140.
  14. Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 4, p. 15; Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 225.
  15. Qurʾān, 3: 144.
  16. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 408; Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 238-239.
  17. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 323; Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 246.
  18. Qurʾān, 33: 23.
  19. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 409; Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 313.
  20. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 409-410.
  21. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 410.
  22. Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 4, p. 406; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1474.
  23. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 410; Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 311.
  24. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 9, p. 410; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 4, p. 1813.
  25. Qurʾān, 2: 156.
  26. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 11, p. 192; Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 291.

References

  • Qurʾān.
  • Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by: Suhayl Zakkar & Rīyāḍ Ziriklī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allah. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, 1412 AH.
  • Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-Ṣaḥāba. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1409 AH.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣahāba. Edited by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mujūd & ʿAlī Muḥammad Muʿawwaḍ. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1415 AH.
  • Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1407 AH.
  • Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. Edited by Marsden Jones. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī, 1992.